


Teasing Cloud

by sanctum_c



Series: Clerith Month 2017 [17]
Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Beds, F/M, Sharing a Bed, Sleeping Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28740870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctum_c/pseuds/sanctum_c
Summary: Who gets which side of the bed?
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Series: Clerith Month 2017 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009509
Kudos: 8





	Teasing Cloud

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt 'Cuddling/Sleeping'

Aeris and Cloud were fortunate they preferred to sleep on different sides of the bed; Cloud favoured the left and Aeris preferred the right. Everywhere they stayed the two of them maintained the same arrangement - even when forced to cram together on a single bunk (fun enough near the start of their relationship; near unbearable when used to the other person and a certain amount of space in the bed). On one, semi-random occasion, Aeris teased Cloud about his preference; he was (apparently) supposed to be naturally and instinctively protective of her.

The comment came at the end of a long day when they had settled down to sleep for the night. The effective upshot of that was Cloud was not at his most coherent and the comment seemed to confuse him overly. Aeris explained the idea came from an article in the paper she came across by chance - the lifestyle section was full of things like this. Normally she would read and move on without another thought. But this one stuck with her - not for entirely good reasons.

The basic gist was that in terms of sleeping arrangements - whether in the bedroom or not - Cloud should automatically place himself nearer to the bedroom door in case of intruders and attack. Aeris was ready to dismiss the article for its very premise - and reading it further uncovered no additional reason to humor it for longer. Outdated and nuisance assumptions made about gender roles in a relationship. The article failed to convince Aeris, but even second hand, Cloud seemed to take it personally. There was some entertainment to be had in seeing Cloud floundering with worry. Hard for him to avoid his lack of adherence to theory; the bedroom door was on the right of the bed after all. Thus Aeris had placed herself closest to it when she slept.

(Aeris would note to others that she had always preferred sleeping on the right-hand side of any bed, and that thoughts of protection didn't factor into it at all. And why was she not expected to instinctively protect Cloud? Perhaps because the article was bunk)

Cloud's most viable - if still weak - defense rested near entirely on the room's built-in closet. Not a separate piece of furniture, the closet was part of one wall and opened to a small side room. And its door looked near identical to the bedroom's. Aeris played at unconvinced and insisted that similar doors in the same room did not count. Cloud sighed in exasperation and offered to swap sides with her. An unexpected response and not one she was keen on; Aeris really did prefer her side of the bed. In addition to her basic preference there was the fact that the mattress on her side was impressively firm despite years of use - still perfectly capable of cushioning her. Conversely, Cloud's side suffered from the memory foam sinking right down close to the wooden slats. Fine for him, but the situation sounded uncomfortable to her. Plus lying on Cloud's side of the bed would be to wind up in the hollow of his sleeping posture - and leave her a good inch or two lower than on her side. And that if they swapped back in the future, both sides would have a Cloud-shaped hollow.

Having now teased him long enough, Aeris relented and offered two choices:

1 - They could try and rearrange the room to fix the situation, or 2 - she would take responsibility for any surprise attacks made on them during the night.

Cloud quickly agreed to the second. Sensible; re-arranging the room was not going to go well with the size of the bed and the limited options for where to relocate it without blocking one or both doors. Unless they got a bunk bed. The idea held a lot of appeal, the notion also flustering Cloud until Aeris noted the existence of double bunk beds (which eliminated the solution posed by the bunkbed in the first place). A maybe for the future. For now it was impossible for Cloud to ignore that Aeris could defend both of them - in the unlikely event of intrusion. Providing said intrusion was not Sephiroth (who, if past behaviour held, was more than capable of walking right through the walls, thus rendering placement within the room with respect to the doors utterly meaningless), the two of them would be fine. Aeris let the matter drop and the couple continued much the same; him on the left, her on the right.

There were at least advantages to their respective sleeping positions. Both Aeris and Cloud favored lying on their left-hand side. This allowed Aeris to press up against him in the night and on lazy mornings when they could have a lie-in. Aeris would lounge, curled around Cloud, him inside her embrace while they both dozed contently. Bliss.


End file.
